Way back when there was no internet and social networking was unheard off, people used to sign autographs on their final day at school or college. One of the most common phrases written in many friends autograph book was, “A Ring is Round and has no End and that’s how long I will be your Friend.”
A ring is a round like a circle and a circle has very
strong magical connotations. The circle is endless and timeless suggesting a
cyclical unbroken completeness in time and space. This story of the finger ring
is in a way like the ring itself, without beginning and without end. No one can
tell for certain how far back the ring goes.
The
First Mention of a Ring in History
The first mention of a wedding ring seems to
have originated in Babylon, the cradle of civilization. The most ancient ring
discovered there is in the shape of the eternal serpent called Ouroboros.
Ouroboros (Auroboros) Sign of Totality. In this Ouroboros ring, the ring
is designed in the form of a snake swallowing its own tail. This supposedly
represents; rebirth, immortality, the round of existence, evolution,
continuity, and perpetual movement of the universe. It symbolizes unity and
infinity, with no beginning and no end. The cycle of day and night, life and
death, eternal marriage, (here meaning till death do us apart) heaven and
earth, good and evil are all represented by the endless turning on itself.
Why is the Wedding Ring worn on the
Third Finger Only?
Eastern Europeans, Orthodox Christians, and Jews
follow the traditional practice of wearing the wedding bands (plain gold rings)
on their right hand; while in most western countries, Christians and western
Europeans prefer to wear the ring on the left hand.
This custom of wearing a gold ring as a symbol of
matrimony or marriage supposedly dates back to 3rd century BC Greece where it
was believed that a vein in the third finger of the left hand led directly from
that finger in to the heart.
In Western cultures a wedding ring is traditionally
worn on the ring finger or the fourth finger of the left hand. This developed
from the Roman ‘annulus pronubis’ when the man gave a ring to the woman at the
betrothal ceremony. This vein was named the vena amori, Latin for ‘vein of love
‘which was believed to be directly connected to the heart, a symbol of
love.
What the Chinese have to say about this?
According to the Chinese representation of
symbolism: Thumb represents your parents, Index finger represents your
siblings, (brothers and sisters), Middle finger represents yourself, and Ring
finger represents your life partner, lover & your married spouse.
Little finger represents children
A Little Chinese Hand Experiment.
Now, put your palms together and bend both of your
middle fingers. Both the middle fingers point to you and indicate yourself.
These middle fingers represent you as a whole. Hold middle fingers back-to-back
and hold all other four fingers tip-to-tip.
Now, if you try to separate your thumbs which
represent your parents, you can! According to the Chinese, this is because your
parents are not destined to live with you forever. They have to go. You can
also open your index finger because your siblings who are your brothers and/or
sisters are going to leave you to have their separate life or maybe build their
own family. You can also open your little finger that represents your children.
Your children will also be building their own separate
lives and settle themselves someday with a family of their own.
Finally,
try to separate your ring finger. Without using much force and pressure. You
cannot since as a husband and wife, you are destined to be together, forever,
for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to
love and to cherish till death separate you both. Marriages were meant to last
a lifetime if not for eternity.
